Accident survivor inducted into seat belt safety club
TOLEDO – It was on Jan. 31 when Toledo resident Liz Inman survived a horrific car accident near a roundabout on Dorr St. in Springfield Township. Her leg was broken and the car was totaled.
Nearly a year later, the University of Toledo senior is helping the Ohio State Highway Patrol spread the word that seatbelts save lives.
From 2019 through 2023, 2,554 people in Ohio were killed and an additional 62,661 injured in traffic crashes where a safety belt was available but not used. In 2023, Ohio’s unbelted fatality rate was 61 percent, marking the fourth consecutive year this rate was 60 percent or higher in the state, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“Safety belts are a proven lifesaver, and we urge every motorist to buckle up,” said Staff Lt. Matthew Crow, assistant commander of the Findlay District. “Every click of a safety belt represents a decision to prioritize life and reduce the risk of severe injury.”
Crow, joined by local public safety partners, recognized Inman for her decision to make that life-saving choice to wear a safety belt during an induction ceremony into Ohio’s Saved by the Belt club at the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Toledo post on Nov. 26.
Inman was among 13 other recipients honored this year during the Toledo Mud Hens for the 2024 Buckle Up – Batter Up | Saved by the Belt event at Fifth Third Field this summer, but Inman was unavailable to attend.
So, with the holiday season upon us, Patrol Sgt. Ryan Purpura said it was a perfect time to finally recognize her and to hear her story.
Surrounded by media, Inman said she was driving down Dorr St. and approaching a roundabout when someone came out of the other side of the roundabout. “They were driving way too fast, crossed the center line and hit my car head-on at the driver’s side and knocked me backwards off the road.
“It totally demolished the front of my car and the front of theirs. They took me to the University of Toledo Hospital, and I ended up alright,” she recalled. “It could have been so much worse … seeing the way my car looked and how the other car looked.
“I think without my seat belt I might not be here,” she said. “Wearing a seatbelt is important to me for exactly things like this. You never know; it was the last thing I was expecting to happen, and it still happened, and it could happen anywhere. We see things like that every day.”
Purpura explained that Saved by the Belt is an ongoing awareness campaign that recognizes and awards drivers like Inman, chosen by troopers who handle those crashes. The troopers nominate crash survivors who wear their seat belts, and then pass their names up their chain of command.
Purpura added that Inman is living testimony to the effectiveness of safety belts, “considering how extravagant and devastating the damage was, and that she walked away.”
Inman was joined at the ceremony by her boyfriend, Connor Jones, and her mother, Noreen Inman, who recalled that when she went to retrieve her daughter’s items from her vehicle and saw the condition of the car, “I got nauseous. I just thought how close she was to not making it out of that.
“The driver who struck her was under the influence of narcotics, so that made it even all the more beyond belief. I’m glad she wears her seatbelt all the time, and she makes us wear our seatbelts all the time. I’m just thankful she’s here,” Mrs. Inman said, adding, “Wear your seat belt always, and just be vigilant on the road.”
Inman described Ohio’s Saved by the Belt campaign as “awesome. I think it’s such a great message, and it’s important for people to know things could be worse. There’s an opportunity for you to be safe, so presenting this award helps people recognize that.”
She advises drivers to “wear your seat belt, pay attention to what you’re doing and just be careful, especially with the weather starting to get bad. I think it’s super important for everyone on the road, whether they’re driving or they’re a passenger, to wear a seat belt because, like I said, some things are out of your control, and you never know what could happen.”
Since 2019, troopers have issued nearly 350,000 safety belt and child safety seat citations.
UPDATE on driver who hit Inman on Jan. 31: Matthew Adam Twigg was arrested and booked into custody Nov. 27 for the following charges: Aggravated Vehicular Assault; vehicular Assault; endangering children; operating vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs; rules for driving in marked lanes.
For up-to-date statistics and crash information related to safety belts, visit the Patrol's Ohio Statistics and Analytics for Traffic Safety (OSTATS) - Safety Belt Dashboard.
